Chapter § 31.2 RESIDENTIAL SCREENING PROCEDURES

• Jurisdiction: Oregon

§ 31.2 RESIDENTIAL SCREENING PROCEDURES

Proper screening of a prospective tenant is one of the most important functions of a property owner or manager. Screening provides assurance that the individual will be able to pay rent and other sums associated with the tenancy. More importantly, screening protects existing residents in a facility or apartment complex from possible criminal activity committed by the new tenant; this concept is now Oregon law:

In sum, we conclude that a landlord has a common-law duty to take reasonable steps to protect tenants in the property's common areas from reasonably foreseeable criminal acts by third persons. That conclusion follows from our own case law . . . which itself reflects a well-settled consensus as reported in various restatements.

McPherson v. State of Oregon et al, 210 Or App 602, 612, 152 P3d 918 (2007) (reasonable juror could find that defendants breached their duty to avoid foreseeable harm to tenants by maintaining a laundry shed that was ill-equipped to provide tenants with protection from criminals that frequented the area).

§ 31.2-1 Application Procedures and Fees

A prospective tenant typically will be given an application for tenancy when he or she visits the property. The application must be completed and submitted to the landlord with any required screening fee. If a screening fee is required, it may only "cover the costs of obtaining information about an applicant as the landlord processes the application for a rental agreement." ORS 90.295(1). Any applicant-screening fee cannot be greater than the landlord's average actual cost of screening applicants. ORS 90.295(2). Moreover, the receipt for an applicant-screening fee must be provided to the applicant. ORS 90.295(1).

When a landlord requires a screening fee, ORS 90.295(3)(b) requires that he or she provide the applicant with written notice of the following before accepting payment:

(1) "The landlord's screening or admission criteria" (ORS 90.295(3)(b)(B)) (screening or admission criteria is defined in ORS 90.100(40) as including "the rental history, character references, public records, criminal records, credit reports, credit references and incomes or resources of the applicant");

(2) "The amount of the applicant screening charge" (ORS 90.295(3)(b)(A));

(3) "The process that the landlord typically will follow in screening the applicant" (ORS 90.295(3)(b)(C)) (e.g., whether the landlord uses a tenant-screening company); and

(4) "The applicant's...